Deputy Minister Gina Leads Business Delegation to China |
| The Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms Nomalungelo Gina departs for China on Sunday where she will be leading a group of more than twenty South African businesspeople who will participate in the second China International Import Expo (CIIE) that will take place in Shanghai from 5-10 November 2019.
The participation of the South African companies in the CIIE is funded by the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) through its Export Marketing and Investment Assistance (EMIA) Scheme. The objective of the scheme is to develop export markets for South African products and services, and to recruit new foreign direct investment into the country. According to Gina, the CIIE is an open international cooperation platform provided by China for countries to showcase their products and services. It is also an international public platform provided by the Chinese government for all the countries in the world to discuss major issues of foreign trade, world economy and global economic governance. “The CIIE is gaining reputation as an ideal international platform for countries to showcase their manufactured goods and services that they reckon can compete with the best in the world. As our country, our participation will go a long way in promoting South Africa as a potential supplier of products and services from a variety of sectors to the huge Chinese market. It will create opportunities for them to access the Chinese market. The South African businesspeople participating in the expo will also be able to obtain first-hand market information and to understand the Chinese distribution channels, barriers and procedures for entering and supplying the Chinese market,” says Gina. Gina adds that South Africa’s participation will also contribute in strengthening both political and economic bilateral relations between South Africa and China. It is also expected to increase trade between the two countries in general, and South African exports of value-add products in particular. “As a fellow member of the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) grouping, participating in exhibitions like these will boost intra-BRICS trade and investment,” says Gina. The CIIE is part of the Chinese government’s initiatives to support trade liberalisation and economic globalisation by actively opening the country’s huge market to the world. China is expecting to import products and services valued at more than US$10 trillion and this will provide a massive opportunity for enterprises across the world to enter the massive Chinese market. “Our continuous participation in the CIIE will also contribute significantly in helping us to increase the export of value-added products to China. Since 2009, China has been South Africa’s number one trading partner globally as well as in the Asian region. Total trade between South Africa and China grew from R271 billion in 2013 to R332 billion by the end of 2018,” says Gina.
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